Swiss voters told to reject immigration quotas
Print Edition
The Swiss government urged voters yesterday to reject quotas on immigrants from European Union countries in a planned referendum, saying the plan would harm the economy and strain relations with the 28-nation bloc.
Immigration is a hot-button issue in Switzerland, where the right-wing Swiss People’s Party has long blamed higher crime, rising rents and crowded transport on an influx of foreigners.
The SVP initiative “against mass immigration” seeks to amend the constitution and set annual quotas on permits granted to foreigners in Switzerland, where unemployment is just over 3 percent compared to more than 12 percent in the eurozone.
The referendum is scheduled for February 9.
“Approval of this initiative would jeopardize long-established bilateral relations with the European Union,” Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter told a news conference, adding it would test Swiss treaty obligations with the EU.
Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann also weighed into the debate, saying: “Swiss businesses would find it difficult to recruit the necessary staff and would be faced with new hurdles when exporting their goods to the EU market.”
Swiss industry heavyweights such as drugmakers Roche and Novartis as well as banks UBS and Credit Suisse have traditionally looked outside the country for highly skilled and specialized staff.
While neutral Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, its immigration policy is based on free movement of people with the EU.
Switzerland also allows a restricted number of non-EU citizens to enter the country.
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